MANILA — Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong has claimed that bidding for government flood control projects is “manipulated” or “luto,” accusing district engineers of acting both as officials and contractors, and serving the interests of politicians.

In a televised interview with UNTV, Magalong alleged that district engineers, who are typically appointed with political backing, are often tasked with delivering money to their patrons instead of focusing on infrastructure quality.

“Alam mo kasi ito mga district engineer, redundant lang yan sa trabaho ng regional director eh. Ang trabaho ng district engineer, unang-una, ang namili d’yan ‘yung politiko. So siya rin ang taga-deliver ng pera doon sa politiko… In fact, yan ‘yung unwritten task description niya eh, mag-deliver ng pera sa politiko,” Magalong said.He added that some engineers allegedly control every stage of a project—from design and planning to bidding, implementation, and even collection of payments.

“Siya na yung magde-design, siya na rin yung magpaplano… siya na rin ang magpapabid, siya na rin ang mag-iimplement… So sa kanya na lahat,” Magalong said.

The mayor’s remarks come as lawmakers intensify scrutiny of flood control spending, following allegations of “ghost projects” and substandard construction.

Senate Inquiry Launched, DPWH Challenged

On August 19, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee opened its inquiry into alleged corruption in flood control projects, focusing on possible violations of procurement laws and anti-graft rules.

The probe follows mounting reports of “ghost projects” and collusion between officials and contractors in one of the country’s largest infrastructure budgets.

During the hearing, Senator Bam Aquino pressed Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan on how the agency’s ₱243 billion proposed flood control budget for 2026 would be allocated.

Aquino questioned why funds appeared spread across all legislative districts regardless of flood risk.

“Hindi tama na mayroong flood control budget ang mga lugar na walang flooding,” Aquino said. “May mga lugar maliit ang nakukuha, sila naman po yung pinaka-flooded. At may mga lugar nakakuha ng funding, wala naman silang flooding.”

Bonoan acknowledged that projects in the budget were largely based on requests from lawmakers.

“These are actually the local priority projects that have been proposed per legislative district,” he said, but added that the DPWH would welcome reallocating funds based on flood-prone areas if Congress agreed.

‘Ghost Projects’ Admission

Aquino also raised concerns over so-called “ghost projects”—multi-billion peso infrastructure projects that reportedly existed on paper but were never implemented.

“Maraming salamat at inamin po ninyo na may ghost project. That in itself is already a huge admission,” Aquino said. “Pero itong ghost project, palagay ko napakaraming tao ang kailangang magbulag-bulagan para magkaroon ng ghost project na ganito kalaki.”

Bonoan conceded that such anomalies would involve multiple personnel across project units.

“Many, many people actually will be involved in the process… from the supervisor, the project engineer, accountant and everybody, including the final payment,” he said.

The DPWH chief confirmed his agency had begun inspections and pledged to deliver a report within a week, ahead of the department’s September budget presentation.

Reform Push

Both Aquino and Senator JV Ejercito—who earlier warned there was “a special place in hell” for those behind fraudulent projects—urged that the 2026 flood control budget be redesigned to prioritize genuinely flood-prone provinces such as Pampanga and Bulacan.

“Let’s work on a budget that will really address our flood control… iyong mapagmamalaki natin, hindi natin ikahihiya,” Aquino said.

📷 Benjie Magalong – Public Servant FB and Senate of the Philippines